Beacon of hope: giving young mums and mums-to-be a helping hand

Being told they have ruined their lives is a stigma some young mums can suffer – on top of feelings of isolation, fear and being overwhelmed.

But there’s a program that’s switching the narrative by offering nurturing, tailored support and guidance to help young mums and mums-to-be achieve their dreams.

Successful Maroochydore business owner Tara-Anne Boysen said the “life-changing” program, available here on the Coast, helped her to conquer her challenging past to get to where she is today.

After finishing high school and applying for university, Mrs Boysen found out she was pregnant. She’d just turned 19 and recalled feeling alone, scared and overwhelmed.

“The pregnancy was not a planned pregnancy but a worst-case-scenario pregnancy,” Mrs Boysen said.

“You always think it’s not going to be me, but it ended up being me.

“I didn’t know what to do – I still wanted to go to university but I wasn’t sure how I was going to make that happen with a baby.”

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Soon after, she relocated to the Sunshine Coast with her family for fresh start.

After a visit with a social worker, Mrs Boysen was given a brochure on STEMM (Supporting Teenagers with Education, Mothering and Mentoring) at Burnside State High School.

The first of its kind in Queensland, the STEMM classroom is a unique and award-winning curriculum offering pregnant teens and young mums under the age of 24 a second chance to continue their education and reach their full potential.

Offering several study pathways, including the Tertiary Preparation Pathway (TPP) program, STEMM provides onsite childcare facilities for babies and children, as well as counsellors, dietitians, midwives and lactation specialists.

While Mrs Boysen didn’t attend STEMM until her son was six months old, she said that once she arrived she knew she had made the best decision for them both.

“It was the most welcoming, warm, loving and supportive place I’ve ever been,” she said.

“It was such a relief because social isolation is real as a young parent and even as a parent.

“I sat down and spoke to the co-ordinators Janelle and Jacqui about what I wanted to do and they said ‘of course you can go to uni, we can help get you there’ – and they did.”

From there, Mrs Boysen completed a Bachelor of Social Work and after practising for a few years she met her husband, who was a business owner.

“He helped inspire me to start my own business,” she said.

“So when COVID hit I started up a cleaning business and led 35 commercial cleaners though the peak of the pandemic, which gave me enough money to buy The Float Space at Maroochydore.”

She said she couldn’t have done it without her time at STEMM.

“The staff at STEMM gave me the emotional support that I needed to process how I had become pregnant and that I was now a mother,” she said.

“They became an extension of my family and I still visit now, 13 years later. It’s like a second home for me, even now.”

She had a message to any other young mothers or mums-to-be.

“If you wish to connect with others that have similar goals, that are motived and that want to better themselves and their life, STEMM is the perfect place for that,” she said.

“The work they do there is phenomenal – it’s bigger than just going to school with a baby or kid. It’s an amazing program.

“I would love to see similar programs run nationally, because there’s so many young people who find themselves pregnant, whether it’s planned or unplanned, and having STEMM in their lives would benefit them and their whole circle.”

STEMM is now in its 15th year and still helping people like Shontae McKenzie, who is mum to her two-year-old, Zander.

“I was in school when I fell pregnant …  I kind of kept it as a secret then I ended up telling people,” Ms McKenzie said.

“I had my first midwife appointment in Nambour and she recommended me to STEMM.

“I didn’t go back to school, I waited and once he was born then I started going to STEMM.”

She said being a young mother was challenging at times, but the program had been extremely supportive in her motherhood journey and her dream of becoming a beautician.

“They’ve helped me with things like housing and how to handle when Zander is being naughty and other helpful strategies,” she said.

“I’ve also made some friendships and been able to talk to other people in my shoes. It has really helped me out a lot, it is awesome.”

STEMM was founded by Jacqui Dean in 2008. Pregnant with her third child, she was teaching at Burnside High and discovered she had a 14-year-old girl in her class who was also expecting and was struggling with school and home life.

“For us it is all about empowerment for the mums, so they can make better lives for themselves and their kids – things like getting helping them to get financially independent and getting off the poverty cycle,” Ms Dean said.

“Our mantra is, by educating a mother you educate a family, and we really believe in that.”

She said education was the key in the supportive environment.

“For a lot of them they’ve been told they’ve ruined their lives and that’s just not true. We tell them it’s a speed bump and we are here to help you get over that speed bump and you can go on and achieve amazing things,” she said.

“STEMM has seen another six girls graduate in 2022 and we have many of our past graduates now working as nurses, teachers, beauticians, childcare educators and aged care workers.

“Some of our graduates now run their own businesses, like Tara-Anne.”

She said another STEMM graduate, Jess, who became a teacher, is studying her masters degree in trauma.

“Jess is currently teaching in the Darwin Hospital looking after the needs of acute mental health patients,” she said.

“At our recent graduation, one of our 2009 graduates, Bec, donated a bursary for another STEMM student, Shontae, called the Breaking Down Barriers Perpetual Shield.

“Bec has set up her own business through the NDIS called Harmonious Disability Care.

“We are just so proud of these young mothers and of all the young women who come through our doors to return to education to break the cycle of welfare, poverty and abuse.

“We hope other young women who may be pregnant or parenting can see there is hope and help available and that they too can improve the life outcomes for themselves and their children.”

For more information visit stemm.com.au.